Ways to Prevent Underage Drinking: Know What’s Happening in Your Teenager’s Life
With much more single parent households or two income households, parents are busier than ever these days. Many teenagers are left at home for long periods of time unsupervised. Most parents feel that their child is mature enough to stay home by themselves by the age of 12 and most children are. But leaving a teen or preteen home alone for long periods of time on a regular basis gives them an opportunity to engage in behavior that you wouldn’t normally approve of; as well as a way for them to do it without your knowledge and consent.
By nature, teenagers will test their parents. Even a “good kid” will test limits and boundaries, sometimes almost making it a game to see how much they can get away with without mom and dad finding out about it. When no one is around to supervise the comings and goings of a teenager, who is showing up at your house, and when they are leaving, how can a parent know that there is even a problem?
The truth is most teenagers who experiment with alcohol, sex, and drugs do so from the time they get out of school to the time their parents get home from work. Many times their parents are none the wiser.
To prevent your child from having a little too much freedom to get into trouble, see if you can solicit the help of a neighbor who can watch the house to make sure nothing is going on. Talk to your teenager about the rules of the house and for having friends over while you are not there to supervise. Let your teenager know that you will be checking in on them from time to time and that you have a neighbor watching the house to make sure they are safe.
More than likely your teenager will pitch a fit, saying that you do not trust them. Don’t let their need to be defensive get you angry. Keep your cool and tell your teenager that you love them and that your only concern is making sure that they are safe when you were not around. Your teenager will have plenty of opportunities to prove to you that you trust him or her in other ways.
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